To Give Or To Receive
Gordon Crook, PastorGrace Assembly, Wichita, Kansas
“I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35
As I write this, I am seeing a lot of pre-black Friday deals being advertised. Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, when many will forget about being thankful, and become rude and pushy to get the best deals on things they want for Christmas. It is the official beginning of the Christmas retail period, when most stores make their largest gains of the year. We will buy and gift literally billions of dollars worth of things in the name of Christmas.
Some will be mad because they did not get something they wanted, or because they were overlooked when they felt they should have received something. Most are convinced that Christmas is about getting gifts, or maybe even about giving gifts. It is a shame that even many who call themselves Christians seem to forget that Christmas is about God’s gift, not about people’s gifts.
Maybe the true spirit of the season of getting lost in the hustle and bustle of following the world’s lead and trying to out give someone else, or get more stuff for ourselves. May we stop to consider what Christmas really means. It might be a good time to examine our own attitude. Are we more concerned with what we can get, or are we eager to give and help others. I believe that Jesus taught us to be willing to give. In Acts 20:35, Paul reminds that Jesus taught that it is better to give than to receive.
God chose to give to us what we do not deserve, as Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.” How wonderful it is to get a gift from someone at any time of the year, and to receive it in the spirit of thanksgiving. How much greater to receive God’s gift of His Son in a spirit of thanksgiving. It seems only appropriate that Thanksgiving and Christmas are so close together.
This was not just a great gift, it is the greatest gift; a gift that no one else could give, and we could never get for ourself. We must then recognize that if God was willing to part with the gift of His Son, what would He withhold from us. “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” Romans 8:32. This is incredible, but true. “Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” Romans 5:18.
As we contemplate the greatness of the gift that God gave, we must certainly recognize that we can never give such a great gift. Because we have received such a great gift, we should have a greater willingness to give unto others, and think less about ourselves. Selflessness is what we learn from our Lord Jesus. “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Titus 2:14. However, it is in our old nature to think more about ourselves than others.
So, what can we give to the Lord? We can give ourselves to the Lord. This is what we see of the saints in Corinth; “And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.” 2 Corinthians 8:5. By all rights, we are already His, but He wants us to yield our lives willingly to Him. This yielded attitude, will apply to everything in our lives as we truly comprehend His gift of love to us. Everything we have and are is by His grace, and therefore, we should not lay personal claim to any of it.
Let us not be taken in by the attitude of the world whose main determination seems to be to get more and more. Instead, let us have an attitude of letting go of the earthly possessions, in favor of the heavenly treasures. Then, we will have something truly good to give to others. We can tell them of all that Jesus has done for us. We can share God’s love at this time of the year by telling others. What greater gift to give than the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.
I hope you have a great CHRISTmas, and a happy new year, but I especially hope that you are looking eagerly for the coming of our Lord Jesus, and sharing Him with your friends.
